Not many Reapers were out on the race courses this weekend, but the ones that were did very well.
Bryan Heppe, competing at Try 32 in Indianapolis, and Scott Gamboe, Jess Miner, and Gwen Talaski, racing at the Great Illini in Mattoon, all won their age groups, while Matt Cuttell, Kris Hohulin, and Jason Sturdyvin all posted top 5 AG finishes.
Gamboe, Miner, and Talaski were the only Reapers at Mattoon on a hot, humid day. Gamboe raced the 70.3 distance, finishing at 5:29:53 to win the 45-49 division on a day that many racers had to walk portions of the run course.
Talaski won the 40-44 women’s division in the Olympic distance race at 2:44:02, while Miner was tops in 35-39 at 2:56:29.
In Indianapolis Sunday, Heppe completed a very solid 2:17:54 time on the Olympic course to win 35-39, while placing 7th overall. Cuttell placed 3rd in 30-34 at 2:32:47, while Sturdyvin was 5th at 2:38:25 despite logging some extra bike mileage after taking a wrong turn. Cuttell’s swim time of 25:02 was 6th overall.
The winning time in Sunday’s tough conditions was a blazing 1:57:13, which included a 25.6 bike pace followed by a 5:43 run pace.
